Who are Shamrock Rovers' next Europa Conference League opponents KAA Gent?

KAA Gent ahead of their Europa League group game in 2020 against Slovan Liberec

KAA Gent ahead of their Europa League group game in 2020 against Slovan Liberec Credit: KAA Gent/UEFA

Shamrock Rovers play their first away game of the Europa Conference League against KAA Gent on Thursday in Belgium (kick-off 6.45pm local time / 5.45pm Irish time). 

So who are Gent?

KAA Gent play their football in the East Flemish city of Ghent. They have won the Belgian league just the once – back in 2014/15. They have lifted the cup four times, most recently last season. That Belgian cup victory placed them into the Europa League play-off which they lost to drop them into the Europa Conference League group stage.

In the league in the last two years, they have finished fifth in the regular season and then topped their play-off group both times against the teams who finished sixth, seventh and eighth. 

They finished runners up in the COVID-19 curtailed 2019/20 season, fifth in 2018/19, fourth in 2017/18 and were third in 2016/17 and 2015/16.

Where do they play? 

Since 2013 they have played their games at the 20,000 capacity Ghelamco Arena. 

Traditionally there is a lunch held on match day between the home and away club officials. The Hoops directors might enjoy the fine dining of the Michelin Star restaurant ‘Gault & Millau’ that is located in the stadium. The three course €105 lunch does look appetising. 

What is the story with the Gent crest?

In America the Washington Redskins are no more – with the American football team renamed as the  Washington Commanders - and the Chief Wahoo logo is gone from the Cleveland Indians with the Major League Baseball team renamed as the Cleveland Guardians.



But what’s this proudly displayed on the Gent jersey? Well the club website describes their logo as “a profile-styled neutral image of a Native American chief, looking ahead into the future”.

The history of the logo dates back to the visit to Ghent of American William Cody and his ‘Buffalo Bill’ circus in 1906 when ‘Buffalo! Buffalo!’ was the call during the show. The call was adopted by the Students in the city. It became the rallying cry for KAA Gent at that time, giving the club its ‘Buffalo’ nickname, with the Indian Chief logo used for the first time in the 1920s. 

The club notes on its website that:

‘the cultural-historical context in which the KAA Gent logo was created shows that the choice for the Native American as logo in 1924 was a positive choice by the KAA Gent supporters. They associated KAA Gent with values ​​such as respect, courage and honour. Values ​​they attributed to Native Americans rather than to the white oppressor.

‘We ask our supporters and employees to be aware of the social significance of the KAA Gent logo and thus always wear it with respect and responsibility.

‘With its logo, KAA Gent itself will draw attention to the social situation of the Native American communities in Europe today.’



How many away fans will be travelling to Belgium?

Gent have called for their fans to come out and support their team to drown out the “1,000 Irish throats” as the Hoops supporters have snapped up all 1,000 tickets available for the away section of the ground.

How have they gone in Europe this season?

While Rovers have played nine games in Europe so far this year winning five and drawing two, Gent have played just three games and a yet to win a match.

As Belgian cup winners they entered Europe in the Europa League play-off round. They lost 2-0 home and away the Cypriot side Omonoia managed by Neil Lennon to drop into the Europa Conference League. 

The drew their opening game of the group last Thursday 0-0 in Molde.

What European pedigree do Gent have?

The Belgian side have plenty of group stage experience – this is the fourth year in a row they’ve made the group stages.

They qualified for the Europa Conference League last year when they topped a group that included Flora Tallinn (beating them 1-0 home and away), Partizan Belgrade (a draw and a win) and Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta (2-0 home win and a 1-0 loss away). They were eliminated in the last 16 by PAOK, losing 2-1 at home and 1-0 away.

They made the group stages of the Europa League in 2020 losing all six matches against Hoffenheim, Red Star Belgrade and Slovan Liberec).

The previous season they topped their Europa League group getting a win and a draw each of their three opponents (Wolfsburg, Saint-Etienne and Ukrainian side Oleksandriya). They drew their home leg of the last 32 against Roma but lost 1-0 in the Stadio Olimpico to go out. 

In the 2016 Europa League they came second in their group, knocked Spurs out in the round of 32 before losing the all Belgian last 16 tie to Genk 6-3 on aggregate.

The season prior to that they made their one Champions League group stage appearance. They finished second in a group that contained (Lyon, Zenit St. Petersburg and Valencia) and were eliminated by Wolfsburg in the last 16.

How is Gent’s domestic season going so far

They lost the Belgian Super Cup to Club Brugge in the season curtain raiser. Ahead of Sunday evening’s match at home to Zulte Waregem they sit seventh in the table. They have won three and drawn two of their seven league games so far. Their home record is a win, a draw and a defeat.

Who is their manager?

Hein Vanhaezebrouck played his club football with Kortrijk, Harelbeke and Sporting Lokeren. The latter club was where he cut his managerial teeth as assistant manager. 

The 58-year-old is in his second spell as Gent manager. He led them to their only league title during his initial time at the club. He had a short 15 month spell at Anderlecht before returning to Gent in 2020.

Which players should we watch out for?

They have Kenyan international Joseph Okumu in defence who plays alongside Cameroon captain Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui. He has 68 international caps (he played against Pico Lopes in the 1-1 draw against Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year).

Their skipper is Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe. The 33-year-old Belgian has previously played his club football with Club Brugge, Norwich City, Legia Warsaw and Olympiacos.

Secured on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt is Jens Petter Hauge, who made 18 appearances across a couple of seasons with AC Milan (he signed a month after Rovers played the Italian club in the Europa League qualifiers in Tallaght in 2020). He played in the Europa League Final against Rangers.

Moroccan international Tarik Tissoudali was the joint third top scorer in the Belgian First Division A last season with 19 goals. 

What formation do they play?

Away from home against Norwegian side Molde last Thursday night, they went with a 3-4-3 / 3 - 5 -2 system. However, in the Europa League play-off that they lost to Omonia, Vanhaezebrouck went with a 4-2-3-1 system 

Where can I see the match?

The game will be shown live in Ireland on Virgin Two.

Who is the match official for this tie?

UEFA have yet to confirm the officiating team for this match.

About Macdara Ferris

Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile